European Sustainability Law (6 ECTS)

Brief course description: Do you know what the little round green logo on your cola bottle actually means? It guarantees you, as a consumer and a human being, that you will not harm the environment when disposing of this bottle. But who is responsible for this and who should pay for it? These are all questions related to sustainability and how it is regulated. Article 3 TEU requires the European Union to work for the sustainable development of the European Union. This course will examine what this entails and how it is implemented in law by looking at the embryonic normative framework set by the objectives in Article 3 TEU in connection with the values of the EU listed in Article 2 TEU. Real-life challenges affecting the daily lives of the EU, its Member States (and you!) in three areas where sustainability issues arise: the protection of the environment, consumer protection and social inclusion and solidarity will be discussed in this course. This will provide you with a thorough understanding of the mechanisms that underlie the law-making in this area of EU regulation, as well the practical implications for the day to day legal practice in the European Union. Thus it will give you a competitive edge in the fast growing market of sustainability law.

Teaching method: Lectures, partly in a classical manner, partly based on the Socratic method of teaching.

Assessment: Depending on the number of participants, students will have to fulfil a written exam (or oral exam) and write a short essay on one of the course topics. The exam and the essay both count for 50% of the final grade, but both assessment instruments must be sufficient ( 5,5 or higher on a decimal scale).

*Official course information and schedules during the academic year can be found in Ocasys.